honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, July 1, 2007

Boras pitching 9-game World Series

Associated Press

NEW YORK — Imagine World Series Weekend in Las Vegas? Or Hawai'i? Maybe Tokyo?

Scott Boras loves the World Series so much, he wants to make it best-of-nine — and open with two games at a neutral site.

Arguing that the shift would create a marketing bonanza that would rival the Super Bowl, Boras outlined his ideas in a two-page letter he sent to baseball commissioner Bud Selig on April 15.

"I know from an owner's perspective, this is a gold mine," Boras said.

Boras, the high-profile agent with high-profile clients, said in an interview Thursday that he will meet with the commissioner after the All-Star break to discuss his proposal. He would open the weekend on a Friday night with a televised gala announcing the MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year awards, and have the five top candidates for each in attendance.

Hall of Fame voting would be announced Saturday, with the opener that night and Game 2 on Sunday night. After that, the Series would pick up the 2-3-2 format that's been used since 1925 (except for 1943 and 1945, when there were wartime travel restrictions). If the scheduled host club for the opener won the pennant, the Series could become a 3-4-2.

Cities would bid far in advance for the right to host the first two games, and baseball would solicit corporate money, trying to create an event similar to the Super Bowl, Final Four and BCS Championship.